


Chance Meeting

by Finn



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-07
Updated: 2012-10-07
Packaged: 2017-11-15 20:03:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/531167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finn/pseuds/Finn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's time for Grace to learn how to swim.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chance Meeting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [team_allen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/team_allen/gifts).



> All Hawaii Five-0 characters herein are the property of CBS. No copyright infringement is intended.  
> Big thanks to my beta reader kodamasama!  
> Written for [h50_exchange](http://h50-exchange.livejournal.com/), recipient: team_allen.

"Horsey, faster. Faster!"

Daniel Williams couldn't help his wince at the cheerful shout that hit his ears from immediate distance. Still, he dutifully tightened his hold on Grace's legs and jogged up the remaining stairs to the pool where his daughter’s swimming lessons would be held.

Opening the door was a struggle because it required quite a bit of multitasking. He had to keep a hold of the toddler on his shoulders, who was still gleefully shouting for her 'horsey' to run faster, all the while using his hair as a bridle and making him wince with all that pulling.  
Then there was the big bag that dangled from his wrist and banged against his chest and was in the way when he tried to grab the handle. It took a bit to open the door, but he managed. Getting through was a problem, though, because the door was heavy, and he had to use a foot to help push while ducking so Grace wouldn't hit her head.  
It proved nearly impossible, but suddenly, an arm appeared from behind him and held the door open, leaving him free to finally enter the building.

Inside, he turned around, saying: "Thanks for the help, I…" only to stop and blink because instead of meeting eyes, his gaze met a flat chest.  
His eyes drifted upwards, and he couldn't help but stare. That guy was a giant. A good looking, well defined giant. Broad shoulders, slim waist, long limbs. Drool worthy. He let his eyes roam over muscles hugged by jeans and a simple shirt, imagining what would be underneath it. Letting his eyes travel up further, laughing eyes met his, and he couldn't help but blush. Coughing, he continued: "Right. Like I said, thanks for the help; I appreciate it."

"No problem."  
The man smiled, and he gave Danny a quick once over before settling his gaze upon Grace and giving her a little wave and a breathtaking smile.  
"Hi there. That's a really pretty horsey you have here."

Danny could hear and feel Grace giggle but still couldn’t help the "Excuse me?!" that escaped him.  
"Not a pretty horsey", Grace informed the guy happily, and to Danny's utter mortification added: "It's a pretty Danno!"

The guy laughed out loud, making Danny think of things he never ever should while he had his daughter on his shoulders, all the while wishing he could stop the damn heat that was crawling into his cheeks.  
"A pretty Danno, is it?"

"Oh my god, please don't get her started. If she repeats that at home, my family will never let me live it down."

A lazy grin crawled over the guy’s face.  
"If the shoe fits, it fits. You here for the swimming lessons?"

The change of topic made Danny's head spin. Had the guy just complimented him? In a really weird way?  
"Um, yeah. 5 p.m. lesson."  
Another broad smile was sent his way, and goddamn it, that should be classified as a lethal weapon. Mass destruction, do you need it?  
"That's my course then. Come along, I'll show you the way to the lockers. I'm Steve McGarrett, by the way. And here, give me that."

The name sounded familiar, but Danny was distracted by the way Steve tugged the bag out of his left hand and lifted it together with his own over his shoulder as if it weighed nothing.

"That's not…" Swallowing down his protest, Danny sighed and instead simply said, "Thanks."  
If there was something he had learned over the last few years, it was how to accept help.  
"I'm Daniel Williams, and that little monkey up there is Grace."  
He couldn't help but tickle one of the small legs that were dangling over his shoulder, making Grace giggle once again. God, he loved his daughter’s laughter.

They made their way down a short hallway before entering the locker rooms, with Steve holding the door open once more.  
"So, Danno… you the uncle? Brother?"  
"I'm her father."

The answer made Steve stop for a second before his gaze visibly slid to where two golden rings were sitting on his ring finger.  
He let his gaze meet Steve's and answered the unspoken questions.  
"Widower."  
"I'm sorry."

He thought about replying with some platitude, something like 'Thank you', or whatever, but Grace, precious monkey that she was, saved him by tugging at his ear again.  
"Danno, down," she demanded.  
"Monkey, not Danno's ear! Ouch."  
Lifting her over his head, he turned her so they were face to face and poked her nose.  
"Ouch."

Her little head tilted, messily braided hair falling over her shoulder and doe eyes watching him earnestly.  
"Ear ouch?"  
"Ear ouch," he confirmed.  
As an answer, she pressed a sloppy, wet kiss on his ear before poking his nose in return with her small finger.  
"Sorry, Danno. But I want down!"  
"Alright, alright, down it is."

He did as told and then turned towards Steve to grab his bag back, but the man didn't make preparations to hand it back over. Instead, he inclined his head and watched Grace as she ran further down the room, looking around but always staying within sight, as she knew she was supposed to.  
"How old is she? She looks a bit smaller than my usual bunch."  
"She's three but was born premature, which is why she's a bit smaller."

By now they had reached the end of the room, from where Danny already was able to see the shower area and a bit of the pool.  
Several other parents were already there and in the process of getting their kids changed, and finally, Steve gave back the bag before setting his own down on the bench right next to Danny's.  
"Gracie, come here. We gotta get you changed, monkey."

Obediently, his daughter made her way to him and then it was the two of them going through the bag. It was the one they always used when going swimming, so it was packed with several things they wouldn't need today.  
Pushing aside several water toys and a bottle of sun cream, Danny triumphantly held up two small swimsuits.  
"Flowers or butterflies, monkey?"  
Grace pulled her lower lip between her teeth and looked back and forth between the two.

"I'd take the butterflies. It looks very pretty."

Both father and daughter looked to the left, where Steve had turned to them and had given his input. Grace seemed to agree because she plucked the butterfly swimsuit out of Danny's hand and started to determinedly shed her clothes.

Normally, Danny would have made her pick them up and give them to him properly, but he was kind of distracted.  
Steve must have been wearing his swimsuit underneath his street clothes because he was already down to a black swim jammer that showed off a sculpted upper body and tattoos and so much smooth skin that it should be illegal.  
Shaking off those thoughts, he turned back around to Grace, avoiding Steve's gaze, and picked up the clothes strewn around.

Steve, meanwhile, started going from parent to parent, checking off names from a list he had pulled from somewhere.

When all the kids were changed, he gathered them around him and introduced himself and told the parents that they would be able to pick up their kids back there in 50 minutes.  
A second man came out from the pool area, introduced himself as Chin, and between the two men, they spanned a thick rope which they made the eight children grab. And then, like a duck family, they went inside the shower area with Grace and Danny waving to each other till they lost sight.

The moment she was gone, Danny proceeded to leisurely change into his trunks and entered himself.  
By the time he was done and entered the big pool area, Grace and her group had already proceeded to the kiddie pool, which left Danny free to jump into the water without his daughter seeing him. Exactly as planned; Grace would have been distracted otherwise.

Danny spent the next 50 minutes swimming slow laps, enjoying the relative quiet and the rhythmic movements that allowed his mind to drift.  
He loved Grace more than life itself, but it wasn't very often that he got a bit of time to himself. Even when he handed her off to her grandparents or aunts and uncles, it mostly was because he had to work, so these 50 minutes were especially precious. And if he used them to daydream about a hot swimming instructor, well sue him. His thoughts were his own.

After about half an hour, he took a break at one end of the pool and sneakily watched as Steve and Chin showed the kids the correct arm movement for breaststroke.  
"We make an arrow and then a bow."  
They demonstrated, and eight pairs of little arms shot up in the air to mirror the movements. He couldn't help but chuckle at Grace's earnest face, with her tongue poking through her lips.  
He left them to it and returned to his laps, carefully keeping an eye on the clock so as to not lose sight of the time.

He needn't have worried.  
The swim group had to pass the big pool, and when it was time, Grace caught sight of him, shouting loudly: "Danno!"  
She removed her small hand from the rope and made as if to run towards him, but quick as lightning, strong arms wrapped around her tiny waist and lifted her up.  
She made a surprised noise and hefted big eyes onto Steve's face.

"No running, Gracie. Your feet are wet, and the tiles are really slippery. Don't want you to fall, okay?"  
Steve waited till he got a nod from her, than made his way over to where Danny was gripping the edge of the pool, looking up at the pair. They looked good together, his tiny girl in the arms of the dark haired giant, and Danny wanted nothing more than to hit himself. Steve was barely more than a stranger. Three years without sex or companionship were no reason to get that desperate.

With a teasing smile, Steve gently lowered Grace into Danny's arms with the words: "I think I have something of yours."

And then he had a small, squirmy body in his arms that nearly hit him with waving arms, all the while saying: "Look, Danno, an arrow. And a bow. Not a frog, like you said."

He heard Steve suppress a laugh and glared at the man before answering his daughter: "So I see. Silly me, thinking my little monkey was supposed to swim like a frog. You’re right, arrow and bow is much better."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see how Steve grabbed the rope again and led the small group back to the locker room. Danny suppressed a sigh but cheered up again when he remembered that he would be able to ogle that man again next week.

Instead, he refocused on his daughter, lifting them both up and moving to the kiddie pool, where Grace proceeded to show off her new learned skills, before heading over to the red water slide, leaving Danny to sit in barely waist high water.

But he wasn't alone for long because suddenly, a long, familiar body slid into the water right next to him. In fact, near enough that their shoulders kept touching. Danny refused to move away.

"So, Grace did very well in the lesson today. I think she'll swim like a fish in no time."

They both watched Grace sliding for a second before Steve cursed and turned to Danny.  
"Fuck this. Maybe I'm totally wrong, and you'll hit me, but I don't think I am because you've been kind of drooling over me, so here goes: You two want to grab dinner with me after your swim? I know a really nice restaurant that's near and very kid friendly."

"Drooling? Excuse me?! I've not been…"  
Flustered, Danny waved his arms, only he could feel that goddamn blush spreading again, because who was he kidding? He _had been_ drooling.

Tentatively, he met Steve's eyes and saw nothing but gentle amusement.  
Huffing, Danny folded his arms and turned to watch Grace, who was waving to the both of them and was calling for Steve and Danny to come and play too.

He sneaked a glace back to Steve, watching how the man sent a big grin Gracie's way, answering that he would be right there, and cursed himself. Here was a gorgeous man, a man that was not only good looking but nice too, and he wanted to have dinner with Danny and Grace. Danny was many things, but he liked to think that he was not stupid.

"I'm allergic to pineapples, and Grace is allergic to peanuts. You better make sure the both of us don't need our EpiPens by the end of the evening, you hear me?"

His answer was a big, goofy grin and then big hands tugged him up and pulled him over to Grace. His skin tingled where their hands touched, and wading through the water, Danny couldn't help but look forward to dinner.

Suddenly, just because of a chance meeting, there were so many possibilities.

Grabbing Grace and throwing her up into the air, he couldn't hold in his laughter. Meeting Steve's eyes, he returned the smile that was thrown his way.

So many possibilities. And all open to him.

~End~


End file.
